When you focus on understanding your customer and their needs, you will gather the information you need to show them “What’s In It for Them”.

By doing this and tying your product or service to their needs, closing the sale becomes super easy!

This Shop Talk Video will help you learn how to make closing the sale all about your customer and not about you. Check it out then share with me in the comments: “What closing line works best for you?”

If thinking about increasing your prices causes some fear and anxiety, you should know that’s perfectly normal. In fact, in the CASH Model I talk about the fact that “Self-Confidence” always comes after “Courage”. It takes that bit of courage to raise your fees so that you can build confidence in your own value.

When you are pricing your products and services the first thing you have to think about is the value. Ask yourself:

“What is the tangible value I am creating for someone else? What is this product or service worth to them?”

If 15 minutes of time with you helps someone to overcome a major obstacle in their personal or business life – what is the value of that?

One of the easiest ways to figure out this value is to ASK. In programs like The Sales Pilot, I am constantly asking things like: “Did you make a sale this week?”, “Have you acquired a new customer?”, “Did this module help you close new or repeat business?”.

This week’s Shop Talk Video is all about How to Set Prices so You Get What You’re REALLY Worth. Have a look and then tell me: How have you gotten out of your own head and demonstrated the courage to charge what you’re worth?

Did you know that it takes a lot more money, effort and time to get a new customer than it does to keep an existing customer?

It’s true!

I bet if you look at how you spend your time in your business you’ll find that 80% of your time is spent on getting just 20% of your sales when, in fact, it should be the opposite. You should be generating 80% of your sales with 20% of your efforts.

How?

By nurturing your relationships with your existing customers.

Serving your current customers really well will make it easier for them to continue doing business with you. This is such an important part of your business that we actually cover it in both The Sales Pilot AND The Content Pilot.

When I was a child, I had all kinds of problems with my ears. Tubes, surgery, ear infections and the doctors always said, “You can’t get water in your ears!” which meant, you don’t get to learn how to swim.

My Mom doesn’t know how to swim either. I remember going to the beach and as soon as the water reached my knees she would be yelling at me to come back so nothing would happen to me. She passed on her fear of the water to me.

A few years ago I signed up for swimming lessons. When I mustered up my courage to show up, the instructor ended up failing me three times. I took it as a sign that I was not meant to learn.

You might have noticed, I spend a lot of time on the water here in Florida, on our boat. This is risky business.

I have a life jacket and a husband who can swim but there is still a part of me that looks at that dark, deep blue water and feels butterflies in my belly.

When I go home to Ottawa in April, I will start swimming lessons. One of the members of The Pilot Project owns The Aqua Life Swim Academy and Stephanie, the owner, is going to teach me how to swim.

The very thought of this makes me uncomfortable.

I know from past experience that this will not be easy. I can float, but moving from floating to sitting is a maneuver that eludes me and causes me to splash and gasp and lose control.

You might be wondering why I am sharing this?

I am sharing because swimming is a skill. It is something that can be taught and can be learned if you stick with it and do the work.

Are you staring at the water, knowing you need to learn about numbers, selling, operations, social media or are you jumping in with the willingness to be COMPLETELY uncomfortable and learn?

I am going to get wet and I am going to struggle. I am going to fight and not enjoy learning how to do something that I am not good at. It is going to be hard and frustrating and I am going to fail the first time I try to do a lot of things.

It’s going to be scary to put my head under water.

It’s going to be scary to give up the floaties.

I am going to demonstrate ultimate vulnerability because learning how to swim could be a life or death situation for me.

What about you? Are there life or death skills you need to learn in your business?

As I celebrate another year of life I have decided to take on this big monster and learn. Will you join me and take on something that makes you uncomfortable too?

I have two things for you today.

1. A video with the five most important books I have ever read. These can help you learn something new – guaranteed.

2. A brand new webinar on March 19th where I am going to teach you some strategies about running your business that might help you face your fears too.

Then, you click a button and give them access to ALL your information…

Then they populate a canned email like this one below guaranteed to make you look like a hero and blast it out to your network.

Not so fast grasshopper.

Social networks are meant to be social.

That means if you are sending this to me and your 500+ other LinkedIn connections you have just made a very tactical error. The majority of these people have NO CLUE as to the professional rating you deserve.

All you have done is left them wondering why your judgment is so poor to even ask for a rating.

2. Skills and Endorsements

LinkedIn has added a simple and easy way for you to give someone an endorsement based on the skills they have in business.

This seemed like a good idea except for the fact that LinkedIn started populating these big blue boxes on your profile and most people just keep clicking add without even considering whether the endorsement is appropriate.

Clients ask me all the time why people are endorsing them for things they don’t even do! Good question. Why would someone do that?

If you are going to endorse someone, make sure you pay attention and select skills that are applicable to them and what they really do – otherwise your good gesture is not of much use to them.

3. Recommendations

This is my favourite part of LinkedIn. This is where you can go and write a real legitimate recommendation for someone.

The problem here is simple: People email their entire list of connections, all at the same time and ask to be recommended instead of asking your customers when the time is right.

Stop asking people to recommend you when they haven’t done business with you.

Start writing GOOD recommendations for people whom you have done business with. Unlike ratings and endorsements, a good recommendation is of tremendous value to you when it is well written and comes from a credible source.

Notice I have received 28, and I have given 27. If you haven’t recently given someone a recommendation that really deserves it, go do it.

Be detailed, specific and show the outcome or benefit they provided you.

LinkedIn is a tremendous professional networking tool when used appropriately. Stop getting caught up in the hype of a five star rating and how many endorsements you can get and focus on building solid relationships.

Have you received a request from someone to recommend or endorse them on LinkedIn but aren’t really sure what the difference is or when you should do this? I set the record straight in this video below.

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